


A Better One

by i_luv_obiwan91



Series: James and His Lark [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: AU of my own story, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Comfort, Cuddling, Easy listening, F/M, Lark in a ladies only apartment, Making Out, Radio, Romance, necking with Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 13:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3898213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_luv_obiwan91/pseuds/i_luv_obiwan91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1940's AU OF MY OWN STORY</p><p>“You’ll be called away soon, won’t you?” She was looking down where his hand rested on her stomach, watching his fingers mindlessly tracing the pattern in her skirt.<br/>“I could get my orders any day, Lark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Better One

Bucky sat with his sweetheart on the couch in her new apartment—a room he’d seen little of due to the ‘ladies only’ restriction on the front door, and the downright athleticism it took to get from balcony to windowsill between the third floors of neighboring apartments—enjoying his reward by sharing some gentle talk at the end of the day with his arm draped comfortably around her shoulders. Smiling, he left Lark for a moment and turned on her small radio, making sure it came in clear to some easy music before returning with a keen look in his eyes. Sitting closer now, Bucky’s hand came to rest at her waist as he turned to the young woman fully and touched her hair, cradling her face. “You’re my girl, you know that?” He murmured softly, taking in her lovely dark blue eyes and glancing down at her mouth.

With a hand on his chest, Lark shifted further into his grasp and returned his gaze just as intently. “I think you better make sure that I do.” Quietly, she invited him, and smiled a little when he did, leaning in to capture her lips. He touched her slowly, massaging his fingers through her curls and pressing his palm into the small of her back. “ _James_ …” Her sigh was in his ear once he moved to kiss her neck, un-doing the first few buttons of her blouse so his lips could leave a gradual bruise on her collarbone.

Lark’s arms were draped over his shoulders naturally, one hand in Bucky’s short hair encouraging him to take his time. When he returned to her mouth, his lips were pliant and they were both relaxed, tasting each other with a leisure that came from belonging to one another. Lark hardly registered a change in the radio program until Bucky stiffened a little and they paused, listening. It was a news broadcast. Another attack in Europe, someplace she’d never been, but a place that her lover would more than likely see for himself with a gun in his hand.

The music soon returned, but the mood was ruined. Bucky sighed slowly and stared without focus at the rug, leaning back from where they had fitted so close together, yet keeping her close all the same. It was Lark who dared to bring it up first. “You’ll be called away soon, won’t you?” She was looking down where his hand rested on her stomach, watching his fingers mindlessly tracing the pattern in her skirt.

“I could get my orders any day, Lark.” He sighed again, running his hand through his hair that she had mussed, but unable to keep a few curls off his forehead. When Bucky finally looked at her again, there were tears threatening to pour from her beautiful eyes and her face was flushed. “Aw, sweetheart, look at me. _Look_ at me.” Comfort in his voice, he put both hands on either side of her face and brought them close. “I love you. Lark, _I love you_. You think I’m not gonna’ make sure we’re together?” Shrugging, her face was a poor, crumpled thing as she shook her head and loosed a few tears. “Look at me, Lark… please.”

It was a moment before Lark took a quivering breath and managed to meet his eye, finding him regarding her with true concern. She tried to wipe the moisture away, and ended up reaching to touch his face, studying the five o’clock shadow that colored his jaw. “James, I’ve got so many friends with their boys off to war, with _husbands_ … I don’t know what I’ll do if one day I get a letter telling me you aren’t coming back.” Her voice broke and she shook her head again, as though by doing so she could shake such worries from her mind entirely.

Seeing her need, James very tenderly hushed her crying and sought to calm Lark down by changing the subject. “Do you know what I was just thinking about this morning?” Bucky’s voice was gentle and his large hands caressed her, gathering the woman he loved against his chest where Lark could rest her head at his shoulder. “I was thinking how beautiful you are, and how beautiful you’d be dressed all in white…” He trailed off, continuing to stroke her arms and back, kissing her naturally curly hair. “Maybe we’ll find a little house, outside the city, maybe even down South where you n’ Levi are from. I was thinking about how many kids you’d like to have, if you’d like a boy or a girl first… How much I’d love taking care of you for the rest of our lives.”

Lark was quiet, having gone still once she began to understand the direction he was taking. James would often tease her, but ever attentive, he always seemed to know when she needed him to be realistic and practical. Right now she wanted nothing more than for him to be serious.

“Wished that I’d have a better ring to give you by the time I asked, but…” Bucky shifted underneath her awkwardly for a second, but managed to pull whatever it was out of his pocket. Then he looked her in the eyes again. “I got one all the same, because I wanted you to know that I meant it.” The band was thin and pale, but Lark couldn’t care less if it turned her finger green by morning, because she knew what this little ring meant. “I’ll make sure you’ve got a better one someday—and I guess I’m jumping the gun, but—I’ll try to be a better man for you, too.” His gaze had dropped away a little nervously, looking at a ring that was truly pitiful and hoping he didn’t look just as pitiful offering himself to this woman. _Screw it_ , James resolved himself and gave his eyes over to the woman he loved more than anything, not realizing each and every emotion was there for her to read. “Lark, will you marry me?”

“ _James_ …” It was a quiet exclamation, but one that spoke volumes to Bucky’s avid ears. When Lark’s smile blossomed suddenly, he couldn’t help but mimic it as he watched her take his hand and guide it to put that sad little band of metal around her ring finger. “ _Yes,_ I’ll marry you.”


End file.
